Volleyball Headline

Junior setter Angie McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.) set the
school record for career kills by a setter and collected seven kills, 47
assists, nine digs and five blocks in leading No. 6 Florida to a 3-1 (30-25,
27-30, 30-24, 30-24) win against Florida State on Tuesday night at Lucy
McDaniel Court.

The Gators (7-1) captured
their 37th consecutive win against instate opponents, including
their 15th straight against the Seminoles. Florida finished with
more digs (65-60) and blocks (13.0-5.0), while out-hitting Florida State .336-.194

“There was a tremendous
atmosphere out there tonight in this gym that made it a very difficult place to
play,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “Was it great volleyball – no. But
there was a lot of passion out there and we’re happy to get the win.”

The victory also brought
Gator head coach Mary Wise within one win of becoming the second coach in Gator
athletics history to reach 500 wins at UF. She’ll enter Florida’s Friday night
match with a career record at Florida of 499-52.

McGinnis broke the record for
kills by a setter of 279 set by Jen Sanchez (1996-99).

The opening game was a tight
affair with the Gators using a trio of 3-0 runs and a 4-0 stretch to gain
enough separation in a 30-26 win. The game started as a see-saw contest with
neither team moving on top by more than two points until the Gators went ahead
12-9 following a 4-0 run. After the Seminoles went on top 9-8, UF tallied the
next four points on a Kelsey Bowers (Gainesville,
Fla.) kill, an FSU error, a tandem block from McGinnis and Bowers and a
kill from McGinnis. Florida State battled back to retake the lead at 14-13
before Florida scored five of the next six points to move back in front 18-15.
FSU pulled within one at 18-18, but Florida put the next three points on the
board on a pair of Hampton kills and one from McCray. After Florida State again
came within two at 24-22, the Gators scored the next three points on a Bowers
kill, a Bowers ace and a Seminole attack error. But Florida State didn’t go
away and responded with four consecutive points to pull within one at 27-26. Florida
fought back the charge with the final three points with McGinnis ending the
game with an ace. McCray and McGinnis tied for game-high honors with four kills
each as the Gators out-hit FSU .421-.217).
Cusack paced all players with eight digs.

The second game featured an
early Florida State run and a late Florida comeback before the Seminoles took
the game 30-27. FSU got off to a great start by jumping out to a 9-3 advantage.
The Gators fought back, closing the gap to one point after scoring five
consecutive points on three kills and a solo block fromKillingsworth. The Gators eventually took the lead at 15-14 on an
ace from Rhian Davis (Austin, Texas) and
pulled in front 16-14 after a kill from McCray. But Florida State came back
with a 6-0 run to surge out in front 21-17. The Gators slowly took back points
and came within one at 26-25 after a setting error by Florida State. The
Seminoles notched the next two points to move ahead 28-25 before the Gators
recorded an ace to narrow things to 28-26. Florida State scored next to make it
29-26. Florida fended off one game point on a kill from Hampton before the game
ended on a kill from Florida State. The Gators still out-hit FSU .290-.275, but
Florida State had five aces in the game. McCray led UF with five kills in the
game and Hampton and Cusack added team highs of four digs each.

Fueled by an early 8-0 run,
the Gators went up 2-1 after a 30-24 win in game three. After Florida State
scored four of the first six points and eventually led 8-6, the Gators put
together their second-longest run of the season in turning a two-point deficit
into a six-point advantage that the Seminoles never recovered from. Hampton
provided strong serving in the run, including an ace and a kill, while the
Gators registered two blocks in the stretch. The Seminoles came as close as
four at 17-13 and 18-14, but UF answered with three consecutive points to move
ahead 21-14 and Florida State never got closer than five the rest of the way.
The game eventually ended when Killingsworth put a ball down the middle. Florida
again out-hit the Seminoles .250-.119 with UF also recording 5.0 blocks in the
game. Hampton paced UF with five kills, while McGinnis and Bowers each picked
up three blocks.

In the fourth and final game,
the Gators used an early 8-2 run before fending off a late Florida State rally
in a 30-24 win. Florida shot out of the gate in using an 8-2 run to build at
12-5 lead after a kill from Hampton. UF extended its advantage to nine at 17-8
after a Seminole attack error. But Florida State didn’t go away, recording 10
of the next 12 points to pull even at 19-19. Florida responded with the next
three points on a Seminole error, a Hampton kill and a tandem block from McCray
and freshman middle blocker Kristina
Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) to go up 22-19. Florida State came as close as
two at 26-24, but Florida put the final four points on the board to close the
match with Killingsworth ending things with an offspeed kill. Hampton led all
players with five kills in the game, while Cusack added seven digs.

Florida will return to action
on Friday evening to open Southeastern Conference play when the Gators travel
to Athens to face Georgia at 7 p.m. The contest will be carried live on Rock
104 and www.GatorZone.com. In addition,
fans can watch the match live via the Internet for $9.95 by logging onto www.georgiadogs.com.